List of fictional professors
This is a list of professors appearing throughout fiction.
Literature
| Novel or literary work | Author | Fictional professor | Study |
| Altered States | Paddy Chayefsky | Professor Eddie Jessup | psychology / parapsychology |
| Angels & Demons The Da Vinci Code The Lost Symbol Inferno | Dan Brown | Professor Robert Langdon | symbology |
| At the Mountains of Madness | H. P. Lovecraft | Professor William Dyer | geology |
| Captain Underpants | Dav Pilkey | Professor Pippy Peepee Poopypants | science |
| The Case of the Gilded Fly | Edmund Crispin | Professor Gervase Fen | English language and literature |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | C. S. Lewis | Professor Digory Kirke | history |
| Doomsday Book | Connie Willis | Professor James Dunworthy | |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | Professor Abraham Van Helsing | many |
| Exit to Eden | Anne Rice | Professor Collins | |
| Foundation series | Isaac Asimov | Professor Hari Seldon Professor Dors Venabili Professor Yugo Amaryl | mathematics and psychohistory history mathematics and psychohistory |
| Harry Potter series | J. K. Rowling | Professor Cuthbert Binns Professor Charity Burbage Professor Alecto Carrow Professor Amycus Carrow Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Professor Filius Flitwick Professor Firenze Professor Gilderoy Lockhart Professor Neville Longbottom Professor Remus Lupin Professor Minerva McGonagall Professor Alastor Moody Professor Quirinus Quirrell Professor Aurora Sinistra Professor Horace Slughorn Professor Severus Snape Professor Pomona Sprout Professor Sybill Trelawney Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge Professor Septima Vector | History of Magic Muggle Studies Muggle Studies Dark Arts Transfiguration Charms Divination Dark Arts Defense Herbology Dark Arts Defense Transfiguration Dark Arts Defense Muggle Studies / Dark Arts Defense Astronomy Potions Potions / Dark Arts Defense Herbology Divination Dark Arts Defense Arithmancy |
| Ravelstein | Saul Bellow | Professor Abe Ravelstein Professor Felix Davarr Professor Radu Grielescu Professor Rakhmiel Kogon Professor Morris Herbst | political philosophy, literary translation, classics political philosophy, philosophy of history, classics history of religion, philosophy of religion, political history |
| The Paper Chase | John Jay Osborn, Jr. | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| Pnin | Vladimir Nabokov | Professor Timofey Pavlovich Pnin | linguistics |
| Professor Branestawm Series | Norman Hunter | Professor Theophilus Branestawm | many |
| Professor Challenger Series | Arthur Conan Doyle | Professor George Edward Challenger | zoology |
| Professor Shonku Series | Satyajit Ray | Professor Shonku | physics |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | Lemony Snicket | Professor Fletcher | |
| Sherlock Holmes Series | Arthur Conan Doyle | Professor James Moriarty | mathematics |
| The Space Trilogy | C.S. Lewis | Professor Elwin Ransom | philology |
| ' | Gregory Maguire | Doctor Dillamond''' |
Film
| Film | Portrayer | Fictional professor | Study |
| The Absent-Minded Professor | Fred MacMurray/Robin Williams | Professor Philip/Ned Brainard | physical chemistry |
| Arlington Road | Jeff Bridges | Professor Michael Faraday | history |
| Charly | Leon Janney | Professor Richard Nemur | psychology |
| Clue | Christopher Lloyd | Professor Plum | psychiatry |
| The Da Vinci Code Angels & Demons Inferno | Tom Hanks | Professor Robert Langdon | symbology |
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | Sam Jaffe | Professor Jacob Barnhardt | biological altruism |
| Dead Poets Society | Robin Williams | Professor John Keating | English literature |
| Diamonds Are Forever | Joseph Furst | Professor Metz | |
| Exit to Eden | John Schneider | Professor Collins | |
| The Fearless Vampire Killers | Jack MacGowran | Professor Abronsius | vampirology |
| Ghostbusters | Harold Ramis Dan Aykroyd Bill Murray | Dr. Egon Spengler Dr. Ray Stantz Dr. Peter Venkman | parapsychology parapsychology psychology and parapsychology |
| The Great Mouse Detective | Vincent Price | Professor Padraic Ratigan | |
| Harry Potter series | Richard Harris / Michael Gambon Warwick Davis David Thewlis Maggie Smith Alan Rickman Jim Broadbent Miriam Margolyes Emma Thompson | Professor Albus Dumbledore Professor Filius Flitwick Professor Remus Lupin Professor Minerva McGonagall Professor Severus Snape Professor Horace E.F. Slughorn Professor Pomona Sprout Professor Sybill Trelawney | Transfiguration, later Headmaster Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Transfiguration Potions, later Defense Against the Dark Arts Potions Herbology Divination |
| Higher Learning | Laurence Fishburne | Professor Maurice Phipps | political science |
| Knowing | Nicolas Cage | Professor Jonathan "John" Koestler | Astrophysics |
| The Ladykillers | Tom Hanks | Professor Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr | classical philology and literature |
| The Life of David Gale | Kevin Spacey | Professor David Gale | philosophy |
| Maggie's Plan | Ethan Hawke Julianne Moore | Adjunct Professor John Harding Professor Georgette Harding | anthropology anthropology |
| Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | John Cleese | Professor Waldman | medicine |
| The Mirror Has Two Faces | Barbra Streisand | Professor Rose Morgan | English literature |
| My Fair Lady | Rex Harrison | Professor Henry Higgins | phonetics |
| The Nutty Professor | Eddie Murphy | Professor Sherman Klump | biology |
| The Paper Chase | John Houseman | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| The Savages | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Professor Jon Savage | theatre |
| A Single Man | Colin Firth | Professor George Falconer | English literature |
| Spider-Man 2 | Dylan Baker | Dr. Curtis Connors | physics |
| Kathryn Hahn | physics | ||
| Still Alice | Julianne Moore | Professor Alice Howland | linguistics |
| Tarzan | Nigel Hawthorne | Professor Archimedes Q. Porter | naturalist |
| The Visitor | Richard Jenkins | Professor Walter Vale | Economics |
| The Wizard of Oz | Frank Morgan | Professor Marvel | none |
| Wonder Boys | Michael Douglas | Professor Grady Tripp | Creative writing |
| X-Men | Patrick Stewart | Professor Charles Xavier | many |
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Harrison Ford Sean Connery | Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. Professor Henry Jones, Sr. | archaeology Medieval literature |
Television
| Television show | Portrayer | Fictional professor | Study |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Jane Curtin John Lithgow | Dr. Mary Margaret Albright, Ph.D Dr. Richard "Dick" Solomon | anthropology physics |
| The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron | Tim Curry | Professor Finbarr Calamitous | science |
| The Aquabats! Super Show! / The Aquabats | Parker Jacobs | Professor Monty Corndog | science |
| Bagpuss | Oliver Postgate | Professor Yaffle | unknown |
| BBC Television | various | Professor Bernard Quatermass | space exploration |
| Being Human | Lyndsey Marshal | Professor Lucy Jaggat | science |
| Boy Meets World | William Daniels | Mr. George Hamilton Feeny | archaeology/physics |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Lindsay Crouse | Professor Maggie Walsh | psychology |
| Californication | David Duchovny | Professor Hank Moody | |
| Cory in the House | Mary Chris Wall Paul Rogan Amy Tolsky | Professor Suzane Bushwick Professor Uriah Dobbs Dr. Vanderslyce | psychology science unknown |
| Doctor Who | Denis Carey Derek Jacobi Alex Kingston Trevor Baxter | Professor Urban Chronotis Professor Yana Professor River Song Professor George Litefoot | chronology endtime gravity mechanics archaeology forensic pathology |
| Falling Skies | Noah Wyle | Professor Tom Mason | history |
| Felix the Cat | Jack Mercer | The Professor | science |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Janet Hubert-Whitten / Daphne Maxwell Reid | Professor Vivian Banks | African-American history |
| Friends | David Schwimmer | Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D | paleontology |
| Futurama | Billy West | Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth | science |
| Ghost Whisperer | Jay Mohr Jamie Kennedy Bruce Davison | Professor Rick Payne Professor Eli James Professor Josh Bedford | |
| Gilligan's Island | Russell Johnson | Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D. | science |
| Gilmore Girls | Michael York Edward Herrmann | Professor Asher Fleming Mr. Richard Gilmore | unknown economics |
| Heroes | Sendhil Ramamurthy | Professor Mohinder Suresh | genetics |
| How I Met Your Mother | Josh Radnor | Professor Ted Mosby | architecture |
| Kim Possible | Patton Oswalt John DiMaggio | Professor Dementor Dr. Drakken | science |
| Law & Order | Dianne Wiest | Nora Lewin | law |
| Nanny and the Professor | Richard Long | Professor Harold Everett | mathematics |
| Neighbours | Andrew Clarke | Professor Alexandr Isiovich "Alex" Kinski | unknown |
| Numb3rs | David Krumholtz Peter MacNicol Navi Rawat | Dr. Charles Edward "Charlie" Eppes Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Fleinhardt Dr. Amita Ramanujan | mathematics physics mathematics |
| One Life to Live | unknown | Dr. Stephen Haver | unknown |
| The Order | Sam Trammell | Eric Clarke | ethics |
| The Paper Chase | John Houseman | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| Perception | Eric McCormack | Dr. Daniel Pierce | neuroscience |
| Phineas and Ferb | Jennifer Grey | Dr. Gevaarlijk | Evil Science |
| Pokémon | Dan Green unknown Kayzie Rogers Stan Hart and Billy Beach Jimmy Zoppi | Professor Birch Professor Elm Professor Felina Ivy Professor Samuel Oak Professor Rowan Professor Juniper | Pokémon habitats Pokémon breeding Pokémon Pokémon behavior Pokémon evolution |
| The Powerpuff Girls | Tom Kane | Professor Utonium | science |
| Primeval | Douglas Henshall | Professor Nick Cutter | unknown |
| Professor Balthazar | N/A | Professor Balthazar | unknown |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Beth Broderick | Professor Zelda Spellman | quantum physics |
| Science Court | H. Jon Benjamin | Professor Nick Parsons | science |
| The Secret Show | Rob Rackstraw | Professor Professor | science |
| The Simpsons | Hank Azaria | Professor John Frink Jr. | science |
| Sliders | John Rhys-Davies | Professor Maximillian P. Arturo | |
| The Twilight Zone | Donald Pleasence | Professor Ellis Fowler | |
| The Twilight Zone | Sherman Hemsley | Professor Sam | mathematics |
| Veronica Mars | Patrick Fabian | Professor Hank Landry | criminology |
| A Very Peculiar Practice | Timothy West | Professor Furie | |
| The West Wing | Martin Sheen | President Josiah Bartlet | Economics |
| WordGirl | unknown Tom Kenny unknown | Professor Steven Boxleitner, Ph.D, MOMA, M&A, LMNOP Dr. Two-Brains Professor James Doohickey | science science technology |
Comics
| Comic | Fictional professor | Study |
| The Adventures of Tintin | Professor Cuthbert Calculus | nuclear and theoretical physics, planetary astronomy, calculus |
| DC Comics | Dr Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow Professor Ray Palmer/Atom Professor Martin Stein/Firestorm | psychiatry psychiatry physics physics |
| Jommeke | Professor Jeremias Gobelijn | self-declared "professor in everything" |
| Marvel Comics | Dr. Curtis Connors Dr. John Grey Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy/The Beast Professor Piotr Phobos Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym Dr. Reed Richards Professor Miles Warren/Jackal Professor Charles Francis Xavier | herpetology history biochemistry/genetics unknown entomology, theoretical physics, and chemistry many biology genetics |
| The Adventures of Nero | Adhemar | philology, trigonometry, nuclear physics, dynamics, philosophy, biology, ornithology and botany |
| Spike and Suzy | Professor Barabas | time travel, inventions |
| Doctor Who | Professor Bernice Summerfield | archaeology |